EMDR THERAPY IN CONNECTICUT
It’s time to discover deeper healing
You’ve experienced the unimaginable.
So, you’re considering seeing a therapist, and perhaps you’ve been down this path before. The problem you seem to always encounter that leaves you throwing up your hands in defeat is that the resolve you deeply desire seems to go beyond what just talking alone can provide.
More and more, you’ve found yourself frustrated with well-intended, but dismissive commentary…
“It’s in the past”
“Everything happens for a reason”
“Forgiveness will set you free”
It can be endlessly discouraging to try to find a therapist who can not just handle the heavy narrative you carry, but one who can also serve you the flavor of healing you desire most.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR is a therapy that helps you connect with the innate healing power of your body and mind.
Our brains are incredibly good at storing information day to day. When new information is received, our brain processes it and files it away into our memory. Experiences that evoke difficult emotions like fear, shame, or anger can become stuck and remain unprocessed in our conscious and unconscious memory. With EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), you work to identify the specific memories, fears, bodily sensations, and beliefs that keep you stuck in the same unhelpful patterns.
You can tap into your body’s ability to heal and reprocess these memories. This doesn’t mean erasing your trauma, but rather, helping your brain store the information in a more helpful way.
Tappers are used to stimulate the left and right sides of the body —referred to as bilateral stimulation— during EMDR. This can also be achieved by using eye movements or headphones with alternating tones.
What to expect:
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The first 1-2 sessions will be primarily focused on gathering history and learning more about you, much like traditional talk therapy.
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Together you and your therapist will prepare for processing by building trust in your relationship and developing skills for you to use that help you better regulate emotions both in and out of your sessions. While EMDR doesn’t require you to disclose all the details of your trauma, trust is a vital part of the process and therapeutic relationship.
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In this phase you’ll spend time determining which negative self-beliefs are present that are distressing and related to the trauma. You will also think about how you’d rather feel. Reprocessing begins in this phase, as well.
Example: “I do not matter” and “I am worthy of love”
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These are the phases where we start to focus on desensitization. You can expect to notice new associations happening when thinking of your trauma. You’ll focus on installing your preferred belief and noticing any lingering symptoms still located within your body.
More questions? Check out EMDRIA’s official site
With EMDR Therapy you can:
Heal and reprocess traumatic experiences
Discover a greater understanding of yourself and your past
Improve your relationships
Develop resources and skills that are unique to your own needs
Feel more confident in your future goals and path
EMDR Therapy for:
Anxiety
Sexual assault & abuse
Childhood abuse
Domestic violence
Emotional abuse
Childhood neglect
Attachment
Relationship conflict
Questions?
These are some common questions about EMDR Therapy. To learn more about working with one of our EMDR Therapists here.
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Here’s the thing: Awful things happen to us and we can’t undo that. With EMDR Therapy the primary goal is to reduce the intensity of how much your trauma affects you. After EMDR, you may find that you’re still a little angry at the person who hurt you. That’s okay. In fact, it’s important that we still have the cues that tell us when we’re in danger emotionally or physically. With EMDR we make sure that those cues don’t come up in situations where they aren’t helpful.
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Nope! While talking about your trauma can be helpful, it’s certainly not required. Our therapists often use an approach that allows you to reference an experience vaguely. EMDR clients may just say, “the incident” or “that time when I was 5 years old”. This is helpful when you’re not comfortable sharing the details of a specific experience, though have some tolerance to still recall them in your mind during processing. Together you’ll work on building tolerance for recalling memories regardless of whether or not you want to talk about them aloud.
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It’s incredibly important to us that you are in control of your healing. If at any point you need a break in a session, want to pause processing for a few weeks, or desire to stop completely, we work with you through that decision. Tall Oaks EMDR therapists find EMDR incredibly valuable, but firmly believe there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.
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EMDR Therapy sessions can range from 50-90 minutes. The overall length of treatment can vary based on a variety of factors. Things like current symptoms, stressors, tolerance for managing difficult emotions and memories, and treatment frequency can all influence how long you may spend in EMDR Therapy.
Generally, people see results from EMDR Therapy after anywhere from 6-12 sessions. Some people may experience relief sooner, after fewer sessions.
